“I grew up in poverty,” said the actress, who was born in Coney Island, N.Y., to a single
teenage mother. “We moved to Manhattan when I was 5, but we lived in a slumlord apartment, so we
moved to a squat in the Lower East Side."

The “amenities” there remain vivid to Dawson.

“We had cast-iron stoves, plastic for windows and plywood for a door,” she said. “You had to
bring buckets upstairs to shower. It was quite an experience being so poor. But it was also a
powerful experience.

“It made me the woman I am today and informs my activism.”

Her past also informs her work, notably in her new film,
Gimme Shelter, opening on Friday in theaters nationwide.

Vanessa Hudgens plays Apple, a pregnant teenager who, while trying to find her father — whom she
thinks is a wealthy Wall Street financier — ends up homeless and living in the streets. Dawson
plays her abusive mother, June Bailey.

Written, produced and directed by Ron Krauss, the story was partly inspired by the life of Kathy
DiFiore, a formerly homeless teen who became a social worker to help teenage mothers.

“Gems like this movie come up only once in a while,” said Dawson, 34. “I feel so lucky to bring
this story to the big screen.”

Dawson’s character is a woman who has been worn down by life.

“She has been struggling for so long that she can’t face her demons. She just lives with them.
She’s in total denial about her responsibilities.”

The actress remembers women from her youth who reminded her of the character — memories she
could draw from for the role.

“The woman I play is really angry,” she said. “Her emotions are at the surface.

“But she’s street-tough. She’s all about surviving the day, which is what a lot of people do,
day in and day out. She’s messing up but can’t admit that to herself.”

Gimme Shelter is the first of five Dawson films due this year.

In
Chavez, to be released on April 4, she joins an all-star cast, including America Ferrera,
John Malkovich and — as labor leader and civil-rights activist Cesar Chavez — Michael Pena.

Due on Aug. 22 is
Sin City: A Dame To Kill For, a sequel to
Sin City (2005) — and, like it, based on the comic books by Frank Miller. The impressive
cast includes Jessica Alba, Josh Brolin, Lady Gaga, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Eva Green, Jaime King,
Mickey Rourke and Bruce Willis. Dawson reprises her role as Gail, the take-no-prisoners prostitute
and dominatrix.

Her 2014 slate also includes
Parts Per Billion, a drama about three couples coping with an unexpected disaster; and
The Captive, about a father searching for his kidnapped daughter.

Even with a slew of movies in the can and a filmography that includes
Men in Black II (2002) and
Unstoppable (2010), Dawson called acting a difficult livelihood.

“Each year there are a handful of these roles that are great,” she said, “and a lot of
incredibly talented women in this industry who are all vying for the roles and looking for the few
great scripts. It makes it challenging at times.”

Which explains why Dawson is working to develop her own projects, whether for herself or for
other actresses.

“I’ll admit that I have high standards,” she said. “I’ve worked with Quentin Tarantino and Danny
Boyle, plus a slew of talented actors and directors. I want to earn that kind of work in the
future, or develop it.”

In her spare time, Dawson works with the Boys and Girls Clubs of America and V-Day, a global
activist movement working to end violence against women and girls.

“Try to help someone today,” she suggested. “You never know how much they need it.”